[Life Under COVID] Quarantine Grocery Shopping | How to Have Your Food Delivery during Lockdown

Food shopping has been a hassle now more so then ever. Even before lockdown, I rely heavily on online grocery delivery as I really do not shop in store at all unless it's a top up shopping trip. Since we have been placed in lockdown 6 weeks ago, all my usual food supplier such as Sainsburys, Ocado, Waitrose, and Ocado refused to deliver to me as I was not on the priority list. All of a sudden I no longer have access to food unless I expose myself to the outer world which I never used to in the first place. Thanks to my lovely housemates for their help, I managed to get through the tough period before I have gathered enough information to sort of 99% of my food shopping online now! For those who are facing the same issue has I have, I am glad to finally present to you a list of online retailers who will deliver food to our doorsteps!

P.S. Please be aware that I came up with this list based on the fact that I live in north west London. I cannot guarantee that all of these retailers will delivery to other parts of London such as east London. Please double check with the shop to make sure they can delivery to you if you live in other parts of the city.

Meat

The butcher I like to order from recently is the Kimbers Farm Shop. They offer fresh poultry, game, lamb, beef, pork, homemade sausages and hamburger meats, as well as offal and other exotic cuts. This is a real gem for true meat lovers. They've even got different meat boxes, including a subscription service, for those who love to enjoy a good BBQ party every other week. Due to the high demand, delivery recently is slower than usual but you do still enjoy nominated day delivery so you have total control on where your meat arrives.

Delivery: £7.95 up to 20kg, extra 30p/ kg afterwards. FREE delivery on orders over £150.

Fish and Seafood

The Fish Society is my all time favourites for fishes and seafood even before lockdown. Let's be honest, fishes aren't cheap and when you buy them from supermarkets they almost never last in the fridge. They have a very good selection of fishes and seafood, including some odd parts that you know I like! From your ordinary white fishes, tunas and salmons, to shellfishes like clams and mussels, to the odd side of the spectrum such as roe and milts, they have everything covered! They also have preserved items such as tinned and smoked seafood. Their hot smoked makerl is my favourite! For £6.40 you get for fat and flavourul fillets. On a warm summer day I love to grill one of these fillets, serve with a simple lemon dressed salad, and a glass of chill white wine for a quick and delicious lunch. It's just divine. Delivery is reasonably quick even during these difficult time which I appreciate. I also love the fact that their fishes arrived frozen so I can buy a whole lot of them which saves some delivery fee and it lasts me a very long time.

Delivery: £7.50 (Under £50). £5.00 (Under £75). FREE (over £75)

Veggies and Fruits

If you like a little weekly surprise and don't mind improvising with things you are given with instead of ingredients you picked out yourself, Oddbox is an excellent fruit and veggies box subscription service. Because it's a subscription service, you will automatically get sent a box once a week and you do not need to worry about going back to order another one when you run out. In these days especially, the less pondering the better. We already have enough to worry about as is. If you don't know about them already, Oddbox is a fruit and veggie box service that aims to reduce food waste by collecting surplus or 'less then perfect' produce. If you have seen one of those cute pumpkin shaped capsicums, this is where they came from. Although the items you get may not be aesthetically pleasing, but they are still perfectly edible and absolutely delicious! Not only you help with reduce food waste, these boxes are also of amazing values! They often come with exotic or pricier items such as purple Asian cabbage which I have never seen anywhere else in my life! They were absolutely great and I seriously cannot believe how little I've paid for these gorgeous veggies.

Specialty Foods and Farmers Market Items

First Choice Produce has been a customers' favourite for a long time. Located in the New Covent Garden Market, they offer a wide range of seasonal food items of finest quality where they used to supply restaurants and hotels. Now that we are in lockdown, they have expanded their service and deliver quality fruits, vegetables, meat, deli, cheese, honey and more, across London. They delivery quite quickly (within 3 days) and the quality of their products are top notch. For those who have been following me to Instagram, this is where I got my wild garlic and edible flower. They also have a wide selection of absolutely delicious fresh juices. Yes, I said fresh! Not the gross carton ones you get from supermarkets. The price of their product is really reasonable considering the quality of food you get from them. If you're planning on another brunch day in, this is where I would recommend you get your ingredients!

Minmum spend: £30

Delivery: £2.50 across London.

P.S. Although they deliver within 3 days but customers don't get to choose when the order will arrive so for those who has to work around a tight schedule, make sure you plan it ahead.

Baked Goods and Cakes

Breads and cakes and pastries... this is where things really gets excited!! This is also a great way of helping small local business which struggles in this plaque. And let's be honest, when we are all stuck at home, we can at least have some delicious and pretty sugary baked goods to keep us happy. A afternoon tea on a warm Sunday is always appreciated after all.

My personal favourite cake place lately is À Demain. Since London has been put to lockdown, Julien, the chef and owner of this amazing pastry shop, has worked hard on supplying Londoners like myself with delicate fancy cakes and fresh buttery French pastry on a next day delivery basis. Not only the sweet bites are beautiful and delicious, they are also quite affordable! My favourite thing to order from Julien is his Petits Fours Platter. For £30.00, you get 8 types of bite size cakes (25 pieces in total) which are just divine! They are perfect for a at home tea party, or just enjoying the whole box on my own with a fork while I read a good book. So good! Extra bonus? This should be just between you and me but the chef Julien is super cute :p We can all use some eye candy while we are in lockdown don't you think?

Debaere is another great bakery now delivering amazing cakes and breads to west and south London. They have a variety of breads, cakes, tray bakes, and macarons! Oh yea how can I live without these small almondy-sweet delicacies! The best thing about Debaere is that they offer a good gluten free and dairy free option for those who has dietary restrictions. Isn't that sweet? No one should be left out when it comes to dessert! During lockdown they are delivering bread and cake boxes. They've got 6 different boxes to choose from, there is always something for everyone. Just amazing!